It's hatch chile season; who's excited?!
When I was walking through the grocery store the other day I was pretty surprised to see them. Mainly because I forgot that the season is almost over, or at least heading to the end. I'm not ready to say goodbye to summer. No way. I still have dishes I'd like to make, pies I want to bake and summer cocktails I'd like to drink.
I haven't made muffins in a long time, so I figured they'd be a good home to these fire-y chiles. These muffins are soft in texture with a bit of a cornbread-quality. These are more moist and tender than most cornbread. The ratio of cornmeal to flour veers much more heavily on the flour side. The butter and buttermilk keep them super moist. I folded in fresh corn kernels and bits of charred hatch chiles, resulting in the muffins having awesome texture, a kick in terms of spice and fluffiness. Oh fluffiness! They're light and won't weigh you down. They're the perfect summer muffin.
This recipe was originally posted on PBS Food.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup white or yellow cornmeal
- 3 tablespoons white granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 large egg
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 2 hatch chiles
- 1 corn husk, peeled and cleaned and kernels cut off the corn
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a measuring cup, measure out the buttermilk, whisk in the egg and cooled melted butter.
- Over a medium flame, place the hatch chiles on the grates and char, rotating them every 30 seconds or so until the chiles are blackened. Immediately transfer them to a cutting board and using a knife's blade, scrap off the charred bits. Dice the chiles, discarding the stems and seeds. If the diced chiles still have bits of char on them, that's okay!
- Pour the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix until you no longer see any bits of flour. Add the chiles and corn kernels to the batter and mix gently.
- Fill each muffin cup 3/4 of the way. Transfer to the oven to bake for 13 to 15 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes in the tins and then remove. Serve them warm with softened butter.
This recipe was originally posted on PBS Food.
